Harry g



(No Model.) E

H. G. GRIER.

ELECTRIC GAS LIGHTER.

No. 554,622. Patented Feb. 1l, 1896.

@QM i i W VQQ @l /m 4IINTTED STATES PATENT Crricn.

HARRY G. GRIER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE GRIER-YOUNG ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CAMDEN, NEI/V JERSEY.

ELECTRIC GAS-LIGHTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,622, dated February 11, 1896.

Application led November 7, 1895. Serial No. 568,199. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, HARRY G. GRIER, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain 5 Improvements in Electric Gas-Lighters, of

which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to so construct an automatic electric lighter for gasburners as to insure the production of a per- 1o fect spark and to render certain the lighting of the gas in that class of burners of `which the Wvellsbach burner is an example, and which carry a refractory tube or mantle to be rendered incandescent by a mixture of air and gas. These objects I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure l is a side view of a tVellsbach gasburner provided With an electric lighting device in accordance with my invention, part of the casing of the burner being broken away in order to expose the parts beneath. Fig. 2 is a transverse section, partly in elevation. Fig. 3, 4., 5, G, and 7 are views illustrating the 2 5 operation of parts of the sparking device, and

Fig. 8 is a side view illustrating a modiiication of the invention.

` A represents the pipe or tube through which the gas enters the burner, this pipe having f 3o the usual valve A for controlling the supply of gas.

I3 is the air-inlet casing having an adjust able valve or damper for regulating the admission of air for admixture with the gas to 3 5 form a Bunsen burner, the mixture of air and gas ascending through the pipe B into the expansion-chamber D' within the hood D, said hood being provided with a cap F having a grating or netting F at the top, through which 4o netting the mixture of air and gas escapes into contact with the refractory mantle G, where it is ignited so as to render said mantle incandescent. v

A deflector a is sometimes placed in the 4 5 upper portion of the chamber D so as to throw the mixture of air and gas outward to the outer portion of the netting E and thence directly against the inner face of the mantle G.

When automatic electric lighters are used 5o in connection with this class of gas-burners they are usually placed inside of the mantle so as to ignite the gas as it issues from the netting F. I find, however, that by providing a suitable opening in the hood D or cap F a jet of mixed air and gas can be projected through the mantle to the outside of the same and can be there ignited so as to effect the proper lighting of the burner without the necessity of placing the spark-forming devices of the latter inside of the mantle.

As shown in Fig. 2,the j et-opening is formed in the cap F directly above the top of the hood D, as shown at b, and it serves to project a fine stream of air and gas through the mantle in immediate proximity to the sparking devices, which, in the present instance, consist of an upright elastic finger CZ and a rocking bar f bent at the upper end so as to form an arm f'. Hence when the bar is turned in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, from its nor- 7o mal position, or position of rest, as there illustrated, the arm f' will strike and slightly deflect the upper end of the linger d, as shown in Fig. 4, such deiiection being permitted owing to the elasticity of the finger.

When the bar F is permitted to turn backward the upper end of the linger d will follow it until it reaches its normal position, or position of rest, as shown in Fig. 3, and the arm will then be sharply withdrawn from con- 8o tact with the finger d, so as to insure the formation of a strong and well-defined spark.

The finger d is secured to a terminal d mounted on the framevof the burner, but insulated therefrom, this terminal receiving one of the wires of the lighting-circuit and the other wire being connected to any available portion of the -burner-frame.

The bar f is guided so as to be free both to turn and to rise and fall in bearings g g on 9o the burner-frame, and is acted on by a spring fi tending both to depress it and to retract it to the position shown in Fig. 3, the depression of the arm being limited by contact of a projecting pin m thereon with the lower bearing g and its retraction being limited by con tact of a pin n on the arm with a portion of the burnenframe.

Suitably hungto the frame of the burner, beneath the bar f, is a lever p having one roo arm adapted to act upon the pin m and another arm connected by a rod p to an arm s projecting radially from the stem of the valve A', said valve having a similar arm s' proj ecting therefrom in the opposite direction and each of these arms having a depending cord or 'wire t, so that by pulling upon one or the other of the said cords or wires the valve may be turned to open or close the same.

Normally the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the valve A' is closed; but when it is desired to light the burner the arm 3 is depressed by pulling down upon its cord or wire t, so as to move the lever p in the direction of the arrow, Fig. l, and thus brin-g the short arm of said lever into contact with the pin m of the bar f, the continued movement of the lever being thus imparted to said pin, so as to rock the bar to the position shown in Fig. 5, and thus move the arm fI4 into contact with the upper end of the linger d and bend said iinger slightly forward. This operation tightens the spring/2, and as soon as the short arm of the lever p has passed beyond the end of the arm m of' the bar f, as shown in Fig. 6, the recoil of the spring brings the bar quickly back to its normal position, as shown in Fig. 5, thereby sharply withdrawing the arm f from contact with the finger CZ and forming the desired spark. Meantime gas and air have been projected into the chamber D and a jet of the same has issued from the opening l) and passed through the mantle G in proximity to the upper ends of the nger d and bar f, so that by the time the spark is formed a jet of air and gas is presented immediately at the point of formation of the spark and is at once ignited thereby and in turn ignites the main volume of air and gas issuing through the meshes of the mantle G.

Then it is desired to extinguish the light the cord or wire t of the arm s of the valve is pulled downward, so as to close said valve and cut off the gas. This effects a backward movement of the lever p, and, owing to the rounded or cam shape of the short arm of said lever, it acts upon the pin m of the bar f so as to raise said bar and compress the spring z', as shown in Fig. 7, the parts rcsum ing their normal position as soon as the short arm of the lever p has passed from beneath the pin m.

Other means than the opening b through the cap F may be employed as a means of projecting a jet of air and gas to the outside of the mantle for the purpose of being ignited by the sparking devices. For instance, in Fig. S l have illustrated an external tube b leading from the lower portion of the hood D to a point in proximit-y to the sparking ends of the linger cl and bar f.

By causing the arm f to continue its movement after it has come into contact with the upper end of the finger d, so as to deect said Slinger, sliding Contact of the arm and iinger is insured both during the original deflection of the iinger and during the recoil on the backward movement of the arm. Hence a perfect electrical connection between the two parts is insured, while the quick separation of the arm from the finger on the backward movement insures the formation of a sharp and well-defined spark.

The lower end of the rod p, which connects the lever p to the arln s of the valve, is looped around said arm, and the loop is coniined by a sleeve w, which, however, can be moved upward on the rod, so as to release the loop and permit it to be slipped oft of the arm s when it is desired to remove the burner.

Having thus described my invention, l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination of a gas-burner having a refractory mantle, and means for supplying a mixture of air and gas thereto, electric sparking devices disposed on the outside of the mantle, and means whereby a jet of the mixed air and gas is projected in proximity to the point at which the spark is formed by said devices, substantially as speciiied.

2. A gas-burner having a refractory mantle with means for supplying a mixture of air and gas thereto, electric sparking devices disposed on the outside of the mantle, and a hood or casing inclosing the mixed air and gas chamber of the burner and having an opening through which a jet of such mixed air and gas can be projected through the mantle in proximity to the point at which the spark is formed by said sparking devices, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of a gasburner having a refractory mantle and means for supplying an admixture of air and gas thereto, with electric sparking devices disposed on the outside of the mantle, and a deector located on the inside of the casing or hood which incloses the mixed air and gas chamber of the burner, saidcasing or hood having an opening formed therein at such a point as to receive a portion of the mixture of air and gas projected by the deflector and direct the same in the form of a jet in proximity to the point atwhich the spark is formed by the sparking devices, substantially as specied.

4. The combination in a sparking device for gas-burners, of an elastic nger constituting one of the terminals of the sparking device, and a rocking bar having an arm constituting the other terminal of the same, with means for rocking the said bar, whereby said arm is brought into contact with and is caused to deflect the upper free end of the elastic finger and is then moved backward while remaining in contact with said finger, the spark being formed by the breaking of the contact on said rearward movement substantially as specified.

5. The combination in a sparking device for gas-burners, of the elastic iingerconstituting one of the terminals of the device, a bar free to rock and slide and having an arm constituting another terminal of the device, a contactarm and a stop-pin projecting from said bar, a combined torsional and compression spring IOO IIO

acting on the bar, and an actuating device whereby the contact-arm of the bar is moved forward so as to tighten the spring and is then released, said actuating device having a camshaped end which on the rearward movement acts to lift the contact-pin and compress the spring, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY G. GRIER.

Witnesses:

FRED C. BENNER, Jos. H. KLEIN. 

